Programme description
Our PhD German Studies programme will enable you to undertake a piece of significant and original research under the supervision of our academics.
Our understanding of German Studies is multiple and interdisciplinary, with a particular emphasis on culture and history from 1800 to the present day.
From the cultural history of Imperial Germany to contemporary Turkish-German culture, migration studies and cosmopolitanism, from Culture and Dictatorship, German-Jewish studies and Holocaust film to the history of translation, our research explores the interface between politics, culture and identity in the modern German-speaking world across and beyond its national boundaries.
Recent PhD projects supervised in the department include studies on:
- Early 20th-century German Design
- The Ottoman Armenians in German Literature and Journalism
- Melusine figures in Theodor Fontane
- Space and Time in Kleist and Hoffmann
- Disability in Contemporary German Women's Writing
- Holocaust Education
- Gertrud Kolmar
- Turkish-German Literature and Film
- Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary German Culture
- Architecture and Dictatorship
- Turkish German Cinema
- Cosmopolitanism and Contemporary Muslim German Writers
Find out more about our research in German Studies , our staff and what our current postgraduate research students are working on.
Special features
Graduate School
All of our postgraduate students become members of the Graduate School when you start at Manchester. It has dedicated facilities for students and offers opportunities to collaborate with other postgraduates.
REF 2014
We have a long established reputation for the breadth and quality of our research. Our standing is demonstrated by the fact that in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Modern Languages and Linguistics at The University of Manchester ranked third in the UK in terms of research power (an established criterion which values research quality in relation to the number of staff submitted).
We achieved joint fourth in terms of the overall amount of 'world- leading' (4*) research activity and 80% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories (4* or 3*).
Specifically, 73% of our publications were judged as either 'world-leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*); moreover, 85% of our research activity achieved 'outstanding' (4*) or 'very considerable' (3*) public impact in areas spanning policy, public discourse, education, cultural life and society.
Our research environment was also judged to be strong, with 100% of the aspects judged to be 'world-leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*).
Additional programme information
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
The PhD is the major postgraduate research degree. It involves three years of full-time study or six years of part-time study and the preparation of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words that makes a significant contribution to knowledge.
A satisfactory PhD topic is one that a suitably qualified and properly supervised student can bring to completion within the permitted timeframe.
Please note that all PhD students are required to undertake research training as part of their PhD programme.
Coursework and assessment
Your research will normally be supervised by two members of staff at the University. Your supervisors will most likely be members of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, but if your research requires it, we may arrange for supervision by someone outside the School.
Supervisory arrangements at Manchester are governed by a Code of Practice which is available on the University's website.
Regular meetings will be held with the supervisors, and details of each of the meetings will be recorded.
Research panels (consisting of at least three academic staff, including the supervisors) are held once per semester to monitor progress.
Please note that the first year of the full-time programme and the first two years of the part-time programme are probationary. This means you will be required to show evidence of satisfactory progress to proceed with the programme.
Facilities
Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.
We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research. There are extensive computing facilities across campus, with access to standard office software as well as specialist programmes, all connected to the campus network and internet.
Every student is registered for email, file storage and internet access. If more demanding computer access is required, our specialist computing division can provide high-end and specialist computing services.
The Graduate School offers dedicated state of the art facilities to research students, including common rooms and workstations.
Find out more about facilities for Modern Languages and Cultures students.